West Virginia Republican Party

The West Virginia Republican Party (WVGOP) is an affiliate of the Republican Party in West Virginia. In 1861, many abolitionists and unionists fled Richmond, Virginia for the western parts of the state as the state voted on secession, and they formed a government in Wheeling, creating the new state of West Virginia. Republicans controlled the state from 1865 to 1872 (when the lifting on the ban on ex-Confederates from holding public office led to the West Virginia Democratic Party regaining power) and 1896 to 1932, with their control being ended due to the Great Depression. During the 21st century, however, West Virginia's mostly-conservative population began to vote for the Republicans at the presidential level, despite electing Democrats at the state and local levels.